The Black Funeral of Michael Jackson

Funerals tell us more about the living than the dead. It's why anthropologists often begin with rituals of death as an entry point for understanding societies and cultures.

I remember watching the funeral of Princess Diana. It was a perfectly British event: the poignant, silent march of her children, the bells tolling at Westminster Abbey, the red coat pallbearers. But I remember being taken aback as the car carrying Diana's casket drove through the streets of London. I was surprised because at that moment the mourners began to applaud.

They'd stood for hours lining the streets and as the casket passed they needed to grieve collectively and publicly. Stiff-upper lip British culture does not have a mechanism for such public grieving. There is no piercing death wail, no garment rending, no ceremonial dance, so instead the British applauded. Those applause revealed the missing place in English life for public mourning.

The death and remembrance of Michael Jackson has been an interesting window into American culture, its relentless cable news cycle, and the overwhelming but false sense of intimacy our celebrity culture engenders. But for me it was the peek into African American culture that was most intriguing.

Within a week of Jackson's death I watched the avatars on my twitter feed turn from Iran-solidarity green to iconic photographs of Michael Jackson. But the photos were exclusively of "black" Michael Jackson: some from his childhood, some from the Off The Wall era, and many from the Thriller era. Few of my African American tweeps were visually remembering the Michael Jackson of the past decade with diminished features and whitened skin.

Memorializing Jackson included selective collective memory that allowed African Americans to see him as belonging especially, if not exclusively, to black folks.

Some African Americans were incensed by the misogynist, racially stereotypical B.E.T. Awards that gave the first public tribute to Jackson. Many have been critical of B.E.T as a network for more than a decade, and the tribute to Jackson renewed that those criticisms. The contrast of Michael Jackson with Soulja Boy felt particularly stark, regressive, and embarrassing.

Memorializing Michael Jackson renewed critical conversation about the direction of black music.

Jackson's passing inspired memorials that reflected local cultures, my favorite was the Second Line in New Orleans, but it was the massive funeral in Los Angeles on Tuesday that was most revealing. Michael Jackson was an international music icon and his memorial was covered on mainstream media, but it was black tradition most fully on display Tuesday.

African American death rituals have long been celebratory as well as mournful. As a marginal people whose collective identity is rooted in struggle, death is celebrated as a release from pain, inequality, and torment. As a deeply religious people, death is celebrated as an opportunity for reunion with God. As a people who were often denied dignity in life, the dignity of a proper homegoing is a critically important sign of respect. Along with these celebratory aspects of funerals, death rituals among African Americans are marked by loud, deep, displays of emotion and public grieving that mark the sense of loss experienced by the whole community.

All of these aspects of black life were on display Tuesday. And it tells us more about us than about Jackson himself. Jackson's radical surgical choices largely eliminated his black phenotype. Jackson's romantic choices did not include black women. His wealth and eccentricities set him apart from most black people. In the final years of his life his music was much more popular in European and Asian countries than among black American listeners. But in death black folks embraced Jackson.

Memorializing Jackson reminds me that death is still a segregated business in America. Funeral homes still anchor black neighborhoods and are a central path of black entrepreneurship. Though he may have transcended or "escaped" blackness in life, Jackson was rendered fully black in death. And that says much more about us than about him.

Comments (30)

1. I think the point Ms Harris-Lacewell was that the "real Michael Jackson" actually died YEARS ago....

   it's just that the funeral is being held NOW with the de-activation of the being he morphed into.

   Posted by Mask at 07/08/2009 @ 11:47am

2. Prof. MHL -- Agreed that the black experience is especially concentrated during the events surrounding one's death here in Los Angeles, viz., with the viewing, the funeral procession, and then a repast with some of the best cooking this side of New Orleans -- so good even the dead want to attend.

   Indeed, for all of Michael Jackson's rejection of his father and his vain attempt to become passe blanc through radical surgeries and skin treatment, he nonetheless could not escape the American "black experience" specifically because of his icon status in the entertainment world; a world replete and rich with a hegemony of black Americans.

   If Michael HAD thought about his death (and pre-planned it), I can say with aplomb that it would have indeed been much more similar with Princess Diana's replete with mournful cortege of performers from around the world, Michael's famous loafers tucked backwards into the stirrups a la President Reagan's funeral, and perhaps a bejeweled glove draped across the saddle.

   John g.

   Posted by fatscribe at 07/08/2009 @ 12:03pm

3. I think Ms Harris-Lacewell, your thread points to some inadequacies in your own understanding of other cultures.

   Celebration of a person's life is central for most Christian memorial services. As a pastor, I have officiated at a number of these services. For those who truly believe in the promises of the scriptures, it is a time of celebration for an individual who trusted and believed in those promises.

   And it seems most certain that you have never attended an Irish funeral. The party is always an event to remember.

   Posted by antisocialist at 07/08/2009 @ 12:06pm

4. Thank God THAT farce is over. Wonder how much money everybody made, from the vendors in LA to the Racist Sharpton's special appearance?

   Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 07/08/2009 @ 12:08pm

5. This Unholywood celebration was an appropriate ending to a huge maniacal fantasy inspired joke of godlessness human existence . I see nothing more appropriate!

   Posted by BigPasture at 07/08/2009 @ 12:14pm

6. I am so sick of hearing about this guy, and I try to avoid him as much as possible. I do this by avoiding mainstream media. I am glad that MJ is such a social enigma that even The Nation has found some use for him. But, other than that may he rest in peace!!!!

   Posted by leelbrig at 07/08/2009 @ 12:16pm

7. You and Al Sharpton ought to be together. You don't think this was a media bonanza? Any idea on the advertising dollar spent? Likely enough to pay off the debts of the estate. I suppose "good taste" precludes taking a hard look at this production.

   Anyway, Jennifer Hudson can sing at my funeral anytime.

   Posted by OneVote at 07/08/2009 @ 12:20pm

8. Enough showbiz already. Nothing terribly perceptive said here.

   Posted by sloper at 07/08/2009 @ 12:50pm

9. MH-L: "Jackson's...largely eliminated his black phenotype.....romantic choices did not include black women....In the final years of his life his music was much more popular in European and Asian countries than among black American listeners. But in death black folks embraced Jackson."

   Me thinks, both on sub-conscious and conscious levels, a lot of the `embracing' of Jackson post-mortum, is a collective sigh of relief as well.

   No one will delve into the (undoubtedly wounded) black psyche of their one-time child superstar with the prototypical black snout, turning his back to his black heritage and DNA! Maybe a couple of Black Studies doctoral dissertations down the road.....

   Posted by Happy at 07/08/2009 @ 1:56pm

10. "His wealth and eccentricities set him apart from most black people."

    remove the adjective "black" and you still have a correct statement...

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 07/08/2009 @ 1:56pm

11. posted by Melissa Harris-Lacewell on 07/08/2009 @ 11:16am

    "Memorializing Jackson included selective collective memory that allowed African Americans to see him as belonging especially, if not exclusively, to black folks."

    - I have no idea what you are talking about? I would suggest the massive memorial for MJ is more related to his superstar nature than anything to do with his culture/ethnicity.

    "Jackson's radical surgical choices largely eliminated his black phenotype. Jackson's romantic choices did not include black women. His wealth and eccentricities set him apart from most black people."

    - These aspects of his life set him apart from almost everyone. The exception being his "romatic choices" which are completely irrelevant. Unless you are suggesting the african americans who have romatic relationships with non african americans make them less black? A ridiculous notion.

    "Though he may have transcended or "escaped" blackness in life, Jackson was rendered fully black in death. And that says much more about us than about him."

    -'Escaped' his blackness? Because he dated white women or because he was immensly successful and famous? What was it that made him not black enough for you? How was he rendered "fully black"? The craziness, celebration, and publicity of his memorial? Your kidding right? Your suggesting his memorial because it was not like Diana's provides some insight into cultural differences between african americans and others? Diana was British Royalty, MJ was a spectacular super pop icon, of course there are going to be differences; and I think it says more about you than "us" to suggest the differences were based along racial lines.

    Posted by Extraneous at 07/08/2009 @ 2:23pm

12. Where do TN dig up such `black' professors? Pretty pitiful for an `intellectual'!

    Posted by Happy at 07/08/2009 @ 2:27pm

13. To suppose that "...British culture does not have a mechanism for such public grieving," is to suppose that there is only one way to grieve. The appluse of Diana's mourners apparently was their form of public grieving, and a form just as valid as any other.

    Grieving is an absolutely personal thing, even when done in public, and there's no one correct way. If a body of mourners did nothing but remain in silence, that would be their appropriate "mechanism," with no death wail or garment rending needed.

    Posted by Apolune at 07/08/2009 @ 2:44pm

14. "Where do TN dig up such `black' professors? Pretty pitiful for an `intellectual'!"----Posted by Happy at 07/08/2009 @ 2:27pm

    Yeah...they need to get somebody like Walter Williams...

    who's a pro-secessionist!....heheh

    http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28529

    Posted by Mask at 07/08/2009 @ 2:53pm

15. Posted by Mask at 07/08/2009 @ 2:53pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    Abe Lincoln - ruthless usurper of constitutional rights?

    The Nation still thinks the affirmative action crowd is a bigger market. But - who knows - things change. Note the Professor struggling hard to turn MJ into a discrimination story. Getting harder and harder to sell this stuff.

    Posted by OneVote at 07/08/2009 @ 3:25pm

16. A bankrupt city had to have a 4 million dollar charade like that at tax payers' expense or the city would have been turned over by riots, and neighborhoods destroyed. Imagine a city being held hostage like that. It shouldn't happen for anyone. You want that kind of massive expense, you pay for it yourself. And today, we will all be made because the country is broke, California's broke, but we always seem to find tax payer money for the rich and famous, again and again and again.

    Posted by lappercad at 07/08/2009 @ 3:29pm

17. Yeah...they need to get somebody like Walter Williams...

    who's a pro-secessionist!....heheh

    Posted by Mask at 07/08/2009 @ 2:53pm

    If you bothered to actually read through Prof Williams brilliant essay, he was proposing nothing of the kind. He pointed out the legitimacy of pursuing secession. He did recommend joining the New Hampshire Free State movement which does not endorse secession.

    <What can be done now? Are there any signs that those Americans who want to unconstitutionally control the lives of others are going to let up soon? I say no, but there's a peaceful resolution proposed by Free State Project, whose motto is, "Liberty in our lifetime.">

    <The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. The success of the Project would likely entail reductions in taxation and regulation, reforms at all levels of government to expand individual rights and free markets, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world.>

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_Project

    <...FSP participants chose New Hampshire because it has the lowest state and local tax burden in the continental U.S., the second-lowest level of dependence on federal spending in the U.S., a citizen legislature where state house representatives have not raised their $100 per year salary since 1889, the lowest crime levels in the U.S., a dynamic economy with plenty of jobs and investment, and a culture of individual responsibility

    http://www.freestateproject.org/

    Posted by antisocialist at 07/08/2009 @ 4:06pm

18. I'm new to the site and am actually surprised to find such mean and petty comments in one of The Nation's comments sections.

    Have Americans always been this mean? If so, maybe Rome deserves to fall.

    Posted by Dailyfare at 07/08/2009 @ 4:46pm

19. Thank you Extaneous. I totally agree with your assessments. Some people will never have enough insight into some topics to speak intelligently. Michael Jackson frequently verbalized that he was a black man. On some level, he accepted it. His music and dance expressions were utterly and fully an expression of black culture. If he did have issues with being black, they were imposed upon him by the racist and dehumanizing nature of SOME, NOT ALL, whites in this and some other societies. It is in fact a form of extreme emotional and psychological abuse. Some people, like MJ are more likely to internalize said abuse. There are others. He was one the most compassionate, passionate and caring people that will ever walk this planet. This made him more susceptible to this form of abuse. He was a black man thrust into a world where these hateful people dominated many aspects of his business and his life. He is gone now. Leave him at peace with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And we don't care what color his children are. We care that he was a loving father.

    @lappercad...I am pretty sure that MJ contributed much more to California's economy than that which they spent on his memorial.

    @antisocialist...good luck with that. You think Bernie Madoff was a monster, just wait and see what kind of power hungry, ruthless, liars and thieves you will encounter in a land with limited regulations and laws. he he he

    Posted by Kimmic at 07/08/2009 @ 6:13pm

20. How was this a man denying his heritage when he constantly referenced black leaders and activists? He always spoke of racial injustices. How do you know he didn't have vitiligo? He was friends with the Kings, Mandella, Rev. Desmond Tutu!!! A black man not proud of his heritage would not constantly reference it in such a positive way. What black person raised in this country hasn't felt self-conscious about their traditionally black features at some point. I have. But, I know better now. I know hate and fear drive people to degrade others. And as stated in an interview done on his 50th birthday " He has even begun to regret having plastic surgery and spends much of his time staring at his reflection in the mirror. 'I don't know what I was thinking back then,' he recently said. 'Everyone makes mistakes when they're young, I guess. But I still look OK, don't I?" One of few positives in this article. This sweet man finally realized what the world did to him.

    As he turns 50, is this what Michael Jackson should really look like? By J Randy Taraborrell

    Like everyone, as you get older, you develop a stronger sense of self. I say you were one of the most beautiful people in the world Michael Jackson. You will be so missed here on earth.

    Posted by Kimmic at 07/08/2009 @ 6:51pm

21. Diana was a commoner selected for breeding purposes only. since the British nobility is so very inbred this is why charlies has no chin. while William obviously is Charles son, harry obviously is not. Diana's only accomplishments in life were baby sitting kindergarten children and popping out two babies and shopping. true she did charitable works -with the queens-er peoples money-mine fields was her thing-which british companys sold in the first place she was driven mad by the constant hounding of the British press which is the only thing her and Michael Jackson had in common. the British are ruled by a house of German nobility who should have been done away with a century ago. to compare funerals is to see not only the distance aloofness and stiffness of the British. in CONTRAST to the very very real warmth openness HUMAN HONESTY and compassion felt by members of the Jackson family and close friends for a man who gave his HEART TO THE WORLD. the AMERICAN funeral memorial service of MICHAEL JACKSON was a window into AMERICAN culture. which is what produced the world wide phenomenon that became MICHAEL JACKSON. I FOR ONE WAS IMPRESSED AND GLADDENED BY THIS ART WORK. ordinary people who overcame extraordinary circumstances and obstacle's to become what they are world class artists.

    rather than an inbred class of so-called nobility who holds a nation hostage behind the color of authority and the use of military force

    Posted by wildschield at 07/08/2009 @ 7:59pm

22. Michael Jackson, I could care less, now ED FREEMAN there is a great American Icon and ordinary man!!!!!

    You're a 19-year-old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

    You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

    Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

    Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

    He's coming anyway.

    And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

    Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.

    And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

    Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID. May God rest his soul.

    Posted by BigPasture at 07/08/2009 @ 9:02pm

23. Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID. May God rest his soul.

    Posted by BigPasture at 07/08/2009 @ 9:02pm

    Great battle, first direct contact w/NV Regulars...

    Great book........good movie.....have both!

    They were...Soldiers!

    Posted by Happy at 07/08/2009 @ 10:08pm

24. 'The Nation still thinks the affirmative action crowd is a bigger market. But - who knows - things change. Note the Professor struggling hard to turn MJ into a discrimination story. Getting harder and harder to sell this stuff.'

    Time heals many things, "OneVote," but ignorance is not one of them.

    Racism is alive and well, white people still hire applicants whom they "feel comfortable with," and Affirmative Action is still the best mechanism to counteract this bias and move us toward more meritocratic outcomes.

    'Grieving is an absolutely personal thing, even when done in public, and there's no one correct way.'

    I can agree with you partly, "Apolune." There is no one correct way to grieve, but the way we grieve is absolutely conditioned by the culture of our upbringing. We do not live in vacuums and create our traditions of grieving out of nothing.

    Therefore, it is worth raising the question WHY African-Americans wail and Brits politely applaud, as Harris-Lacewell does. It is also worth raising the question which kind of grieving works better. Although there is no "one correct way" to grieve, there may be more wrong ways to grieve than there are right ways. For example, look at the Near East, where the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians are not so much properly mourned as exploited to fuel future acts of vengeance.

    Posted by JakobFabian at 07/09/2009 @ 07:26am

25. Your article is viciously one-dimensional and void of any real research into the ‘facts' discussed. I'm not sure where race gets involved in all this. Michael was an international music icon, his fans and his mourners were from all races and cultures. Music is beautiful because it brings us together, regardless of race. Good music is good music. You state as ‘fact' that Michael had separated himself from Black People. That is false. He has made appearances on shows like HOT97 alongside JayZ and other black artists. In 2008 he did some work with Akon and other black producers. He was one of the voices that spoke to try and quell the feud between 50 cent and The Game. One thing you forgot is, at black funerals, we forgive the dead. What value is there in holding a grudge against a dead man? Rather, we remember their achievements and their triumphs, in the hope that their children can remember those things and be inspired to also be achievers. Take some time and Google some of these things before you publish racist hogwash and expose yourself.

    Posted by BlaXon at 07/09/2009 @ 08:01am

26. I find my feelings about the service being centered on His daughter Paris' speech and the media reaction, which seems to be universal praise. How sad that Michael wanted to keep his kids out of the limelight and the second he's gone she's broadcast all over the universe. I found it very disturbing. It seems that the Jackson legacy of pushing kids into performing at too early an age lives on.

    Posted by drumboy56 at 07/09/2009 @ 08:19am

27. We choose to remember the black Micheal Jackson, because that is an easier image for us to classify and understand. The stranger looking and troubled Michael Jackson of recent years serves a painful reminder to us. How do you survive in a racist, white supremacist society being black, being successful and being a celebrity? Being isolated without community, coming from a difficult family background, being forced to grow up without a childhood. Jackson was undeniably a weird dude with a lot of problems that manifested in his appearance and his upsetting relationship with children, but those characteristics didn't come out of nowhere. We don't want to remember the weirdness, because, as Dr. Harris-Lacewell says, that would say much more about us than we want to know.

    Posted by mdel at 07/09/2009 @ 09:09am

28. To Kimmic----> I am thankful for your comments. You seem to feel just as I do about this issue. The writer of the article has NEVER DONE WHAT MJ HAS, AND NEVER WILL! He has given to world charities(Even in death) and has helped many, many people! Bush started wars, and no one is harping on him. And we are still trying to get out of the MESS he put us in. This article was in my OPINION, poorly written. We have lost a PERSON! A Person with PARENTS, CHILDREN, SIBLINGS, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FANS! Regardless of the race of this PERSON. Regardless of the fame of this PERSON. Regardless of the decisions of this PERSON. This was someone who is and forever will be a key component to AMERICAN CULTURE!

    Being an African American woman, I have grown to appreciate the struggles and sacrafices of those before me. Being black is a struggle in itself. But being a BLACK MAN is an added struggle. People talk about MJs voice. Did you all notice that ALL THE JACKSON BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE SOFT VOICES?

    MJ said it himself,he was a black man! NOT A White woman. He had issues like many of us do. HE was a great man. He could have distroyed himself long ago. But he kept pushing! White people do not understand the sruggle to get past certain hurdles in your lives. African american people belong here as much as anyone else. We did NOT come take ove AMERICA! I could say that causcasians are thieves. The stole a whole country and didnt go to jail! They stole thousands of people and were still FREE! But when an African American person does something, OMG....Its the worst thing ever! guess what....WE LEARNED IT FROM WHITE PEOPLE! WHITE MEN RAPED BLACK SLAVES, BEAT THEM,DISRESPECTEED THEM. BUT THEY DONT HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE LIFE LONG STIGMA OF BEING WHITE! Why is that?

    Posted by lovingsoulwalker at 07/09/2009 @ 11:51am

29. "We choose to remember the black Micheal Jackson, because that is an easier image for us to classify and understand. The stranger looking and troubled Michael Jackson of recent years serves a painful reminder to us. How do you survive in a racist, white supremacist society being black, being successful and being a celebrity?"

    Posted by mdel at 07/09/2009 @ 09:09am

    Interesting take, mdel.

    http://tinyurl.com/lxfqq9

    Posted by FLaim at 07/09/2009 @ 1:29pm

30. When the white community turned on Vanessa Williams for the nude photos exposed while she served as Miss America. And like the guilty verdict handed to O.J. Simpson before he was even tried. Michael Jackson was shown that we will always come to the side of our own when the times demand.

    Posted by african-american? at 07/10/2009 @ 11:38am